Struggled with the Canon S5iS today. I had less than optimal light for this camera.
But Nikon is currently replacing “major parts” on my camera, so hopefully I'll have a better-than-new machine soon.
Sweetpea found a recipe for S'Mores Cupcakes in October, and it's been hanging on our fridge waiting for the Halloween candy to be gone, the Thanksgiving desserts to be gone, and then the Christmas/New Year's goodies to be finished. We decided to jump on it this week before the Valentine treats show up. She did almost everything herself, and she was so proud to do so.
She was so excited to do the frosting and decorating herself. I was so busy studying the light and angles and trying to make the camera cooperate, I didn't realize until it was too late that she only used half the frosting. She covered all the cupcakes, but could have used twice the frosting on each one. Oh well. It's not like we need the extra sugar.
I know, I know. You're waiting for the recipe, right? Sorry, I'm not going to give it to you. The chocolate cupcakes were not so great. The kids loved them, but I'm a little pickier about my chocolate cake. I find that a lot of recipes geared toward kids—usually found in kids' magazines, quirky chapter books, and character merchandise—are so very basic and overly sweet that they don't meet my expectations.
But I don't want to disappoint. I will give you the simple marshmallow frosting recipe. I did a little searching on the internet and found three takes on marshmallow frosting:
1) butter cream + marshmallow creme, like we used today
2) fancy whipped egg white style, and
3) sticking a marshmallow on top of a baked cupcake and baking for a few minutes to let it melt.
That last one seems a little strange to me. Wouldn't the cupcake overcook and dry out?
The egg white option sounds great, but not very kid-friendly. If I feel like making another attempt at s'more cupcakes, I'll use this recipe.
Here's what we did today:
Marshmallow Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp vanilla
14oz marshmallow creme
Beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until well combined. (It won't necessarily be smooth and frosting-like yet.) Add marshmallow creme and beat until thoroughly combined, smooth and creamy.
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes. This frosting will harden a little as it stands, so it's best to make it just before you're ready to frost the cupcakes.
* * * * *
So, make a batch of chocolate cupcakes. Cool completely. Frost with marshmallow frosting and top with mini chocolate chips and graham cracker chunks. Pretty easy, and the kids will love it.
